A TRIP to the theatre ended in turmoil for an 83-year-old pensioner and his disabled wife.

John and Ruth Sheldon, 81, of Queen's Park Road, Chester, were left high and dry after attending an evening performance of Oklahoma! at the Chester Gateway theatre.

On leaving the venue, the pair made their way to a lift to take them down to the white level of an underground car park, beneath Chester Market, but were stunned to see the gates to the facility were locked.

Mr Sheldon then had to leave his wife alone as he climbed down stairs to find an easy route to the couple's car.

But as he made his way back up the stairs, Mr Sheldon fell, injuring his hands and knees.

He was helped up by a passer-by but his injuries left him housebound and he now wants answers from Chester City Council as to why gates to the car park lift were closed at about 10pm on Friday, October 31.

'When this incident happened I did phone round but did not receive any satisfaction at all,' said Mr Sheldon.

'The manager of the theatre is not to blame but I do believe the manager of the car park is. I believe it is within the remit to see that when the theatre is open in the evening the lift shall be allowed to function so that disabled people can get back to their cars.

'Disabled people of Chester want to use their local theatre - will someone on the council please see that they can without all this additional worry? This is the second time this sort of thing has happened to us.'

Michael McGivern, a spokesman for Chester City Council, said: 'Our car parks and lifts are open until 11.30pm.

'If the lift was not working on October 31, we will have to look into it. We would appreciate it if Mr Sheldon could contact us. We are not aware of any breakdown and the lift should have been working.'